[Patrick] was looking for an easier way to control music and movies on his computer from across the room. There is a huge amount of remote control products that could be purchased to do this, but as a hacker [Patrick] wanted to make something himself. He calls his creation, “Dial” and it’s a simple but elegant solution to the problem.

Dial looks like a small cylindrical container that sits on a flat surface. It’s actually split into a top and bottom cylinder. The bottom acts as a base and stays stationary while the top acts as a dial and a push button. The case was designed in SOLIDWORKS and printed on a 3D printer.

The Dial runs on an Arduino Pro mini with a Bluetooth module. The original prototype used Bluetooth 2.0 and required a recharge after about a day. The latest version uses the Bluetooth low energy spec and can reportedly last several weeks on a single charge. Once the LiPo battery dies, it can be recharged easily once plugged into a USB port.

The mechanical component of the dial is actually an off-the-shelf rotary encoder. The encoder included a built-in push button to make things easier. The firmware is able to detect rotation in either direction, a button press, a double press, and a press-and-hold. This gives five different possible functions.

[Patrick] wrote two pieces of software to handle interaction with the Dial. The first is a C program to deal with the Bluetooth communication. The second is actually a set of Apple scripts to actually handle interaction between the Dial and the various media programs on his computer. This allows the user to more easily write their own scripts for whatever software they want. While this may have read like a product review, the Dial is actually open source!

The Color Machine (La macchina dei colori, in Italian language) is a tool to teach children about the use and the operation of RGB color coding, which is used in all digital devices (TVs, smartphones, computers, etc.). It was created with Arduino Mega by an italian duo composed by Fabio Ghidini and Stefano Guerrini:

Using 3 knobs you can increase the percentages of red, green and blue separately, and the LED strip at the top of the machine lights up consistently with the color mix choosen.

The Color Machine has 4 different operating modes: “let’s create colors”, “guess the color”, “the names of the colors” and “demo”. Under the guidance of a teacher, children can play and learn at the same time to recreate colors with additive synthesis. This device is currently used in the educational workshops of Musil – Museum of Industry and Labour of Rodengo Saiano (Italy).

[Mark] was looking for a cheap disco laser projector for parties, and he found one. Unfortunately for him, the advertised features were a bit lacking. The “sound activation mode” was merely an on off circuit, as opposed to it actually being controlled by the music — he set out to fix this.

Taking the unit apart revealed a very convenient design for hacking. All of the components were connected to the main PCB by connectors, meaning the laser driver board was completely separate! He replaced the PCB completely using a prototyping board, an Arduino pro mini, a microphone with a simple preamp, a rotary encoder, and a MSGEQ7 chip to analyse the levels. Oh, and a MOSFET to control the motor via PWM output. It even ended up being close to the same size as the original!

This chapter we will spend some more time with the rotary encoder by using it to control a clock, look at ways of driving a common-anode LED display with Arduino, and make a usable alarm clock with which we can start to move from the prototype stage to an actual finished product – something you would be proud to give to someone.

So off we go…

In chapter eleven, we looked at getting some values from the rotary encoder. Not the easiest way of receiving user input, but certainly interesting. This week I have an example for you where the encoder is used for setting the time of a digital clock.

Example 12.1

This example is basically two previous projects mashed together. It consists of the LED digital clock from exercise 7.1, and the rotary encoder sketch from example 11.2. The sketch was quite simple in theory, but somewhat complex in execution. The idea was to read the decoder, and after every read, display the time. However, if the encoder’s button was pressed, the time set function would be activated. At this point, you turn the encoder in one direction to set the hours, and the other direction to set the minutes. Then press the button again to set that time and return to normal operations.

Here is the sketch for your perusal: example 12.1.pdf, and the matching schematic (sorry, I forgot to add the DS1307 module – see example 12.2 schematic below for how to do this):

… in real life:

and a video clip:

After watching that clip you can soon see that there is an issue with the encoder. As a normal switch can bounce (turn on and off very very quickly in the latter part of operation), so can a rotary encoder. That is why it would sometimes return a result of clockwise, instead of anti-clockwise. Furthermore, they are right little pains when trying to use in a breadboard, so if you were going to use one in greater lengths, it would pay to make up your own little breakout board for it. Therefore at this stage we will leave the encoder for a while.

You may also have noticed the extra shield between the real time clock shield (yellow) and the TwentyTen arduino board. It is the Screwshield for Arduino – reviewed here. It is very useful to making a stronger connection to the I/O pins, or using normal multi-core wires.

Next on the agenda is the common-anode LED display. Normally the LED display we have demonstrated in the past has been common-cathode, and very easy to use. Current would flow from the power supply, through the shift register’s outputs (for example the 74HC595), through current-limiting resistors, into the LED segment, then off to earth via the cathode. Current flows through a diode from the anode to the cathode, and finally back to earth/ground. For a refresher on diodes, please read this article.

Absolutely perfect for our clock experimentations. A nice colon in the middle, and another LED between the third and fourth digit which could make a good indicator of some sort. However the one catch (always a catch…) is that is was common-anode. This means that current starts from the power supply, through the common anode pin for the particular digit, then the LED segment, the LED’s individual cathode pin, through the current-limiting resistor and then to ground. With the current flowing in the opposite direction via a common anode, we can’t just hook the display up to our 74HC595 shift register.

Therefore, we will need the shift register to control switches to allow the current to flow through each segment, just like we have done previously controlling the cathodes of a common cathode display (see example 12.1). So to control the digits of this new display, we will need twelve switches (eight for the segments of the digit, and four to control the anodes). That would mean twelve BC548 transistors and 10k ohm resistors, and a lot of mess.

Example 12.2

Instead we will now use the 74HC4066 quad bilateral switch IC. I have reviewed this chip being used with Arduinos in a separate article here. The 74HC4066 is quite a common chip, available from many suppliers including: Farnell/Newark (part number 380957), Digikey (part number 568-1463-5-ND) or Mouser (771-74HC4066N). If you cannot find them, email me and I can sell you some at cost plus postage. Once you have a understanding of this IC, please consider the following circuit:

Most of this should be easily understood. One shift register is controlling the anodes, turning them on and off via a 74HC4066. In past examples this shift register would have turned off common cathodes via a 10k resistor and an NPN transistor. The other shift register is controlling the individual LEDs for each digit via a pair of 74HC4066s (as they only have four switches per IC).

Here is the sketch, this should be quite a familiar piece of code for you by now: example 12.2.pdf.

Question – Do you think the time shown on the display was correct when I took the photo? Personally the blue looks really good in a dark background. You can also get them in yellow and green.

Moving along. Now and again, you often want to have a few buttons in use for user input, however the cheap ones don’t really like to sit in a breadboard. Naturally, you could make your own “button shield”, which would be very admirable, but then it would be preset to certain pins, which could interfere with your project. I had the same problem in writing this chapter, so came up with this example of an external “button panel” to make life easier.

Example 12.3

Here is the schematic, nothing complex at all – just four buttons and the required 10k ohm pull-down resistors:

and the finished product:

This was a quick job, as I will need to use a few buttons in the near future. Have also put some rubber feet on the bottom to stop the solder joints scratching the surface of the bench. Originally I was going to chop off the excess board at the top, but instead will add some LEDs to it after finishing this article. However using this button board will save a lot of frustration by not trying to jam the buttons into a breadboard.

Exercise 12.1

Now it is time for you to do some work. From this chapter onwards, we will be working on making a small alarm clock – something you could use. Just like the six million dollar man, we have the capability, the technology, and so on … except for Steve Austin. So this chapter, your task is to create and breadboard the circuit and the underlying sketch. Using the LED display from example 12.1, your clock will have a menu option to set the time, alarm time, turn on and off the alarm, a snooze button – and also switch the display on and off (so you don’t stare at it when you should be trying to sleep).

You could either use a DS1307 module, or the raw parts. For an explanation of the circuitry, please see this post about making a RTC shield. You can always change it when we get to making a real prototype. The same with the Arduino – but for this exercise just stick with the normal board. Later on we will use a bare circuit the same as in chapter ten. With regards to user input, it’s up to you. A rotary encoder could be a real PITA, my example below just uses buttons. Anyhow, off you go!

Here is my interpretation of the answer to the exercise, the sketch: exercise 12.1.pdf. Although this is a particularly long sketch for our examples, it is broken up into many functions which are quite modular, so you can easily follow the flow of the sketch if you start at void loop(). All of the types of functions used have been covered in the past tutorials. In then next chapters we will add more functions, such an an adjustable snooze, selectable blinking colon, and so on. If you have any questions, please ask.

The buttons have several functions. In normal clock display mode, button one is for menu, two turns the alarm on, three turns it off, and four turns the display on and off. If you press menu, button two is to select time set, three for alarm set, and four is like an enter button. When in the time/alarm set modes, button one increases the hour, button two increases minutes in units of ten, and button three increases minutes in ones, and four is enter. When the alarm activates, button four turns it off.

The schematic is just example 12.2 and example 12.3 connected together, however the first button on the external board is connected to digital pin 8 instead of 1.

So here is a photo of our work in progress:

And a video clip showing the various functions of the clock in operation:

Well that is another chapter over. However, as usual I’m already excited about writing the next instalment… Congratulations to all those who took part and built something useful!

Please subscribe (see the top right of this page) to receive notifications of new articles. High resolution photos are available from flickr.

If you have any questions at all please leave a comment (below). We also have a Google Group dedicated to the projects and related items on the website – please sign up, it’s free and we can all learn something. If you would like to showcase your work from this article, email a picture or a link to john at tronixstuff dot com. You might even win a prize!

Finally it is wireless week here in the tiny tronixstuff lab, as we will start to investigate radio data transmission; then followed by starting to make sense of rotary encoders.

So let’s go!

As technology has marched along and generally improved on the past, things have been getting small and relatively cheaper. What was once jaw-droppingly amazing is now just meh. But as you are reading this, you know differently. We can now take control of this technology for our own devices. What has been in the past quite unapproachable is now relatively – the concept of wireless data transmission. But no just sending a signal, like a remote-control garage door opener – but sending actual, useful data – numbers and characters and so on.

How is it so? With this pair of tiny devices:

Quite small indeed – the pins are spaced 2.54mm apart, and the graph paper is 5mm square. The transmitter is on the right. This pair operates at 315 kHz, over up to a theoretical 150 metres. The data transmission speed is 2400 bps (bits per second). These units are serial passthrough, that is they can replace a link of wire between the serial TX (pin 1) from one Arduino, and the RX of another Arduino (pin 0). They don’t need aerials for very short distances, but the use of one will extend the range towards the maximum. And finally, the transmitter needs between 2 and 10 volts; the receiver 5. Here is the data sheet for these modules: 315MHz.pdf. Normally they are sold individually, for example the transmitter and receiver. You can also find faster (data speed) modules, however we will use these ones today.

In preparation to use these modules, another library needs to be installed – the VirtualWire library. Download the latest revision from the following location: http://www.open.com.au/mikem/arduino/.

There is also a guide to using the library in .pdf format as well. Please note the library author’s instructions with regards to licensing on the last page of the guide. For a refresher on how to install a library, please head back to chapter two. This library will save us a lot of time, it takes care of checking for errors, and only allows complete, correct data (i.e. what is received matches what is sent) to be used in the receiver’s sketch. However, as wireless is not 100% reliable, you need to take into account that transmissions may not be received, or erroneous ones will be ignored by the receiver’s sketch. You can reduce the data speed to improve reliability and range.

Therefore if you are using this for some important communications, have the transmitter repeatedly sent the message. Later on in this series we will investigate more powerful solutions. Anyhow, moving along …

Example 11.1

First of all, we will demonstrate the use of these modules with a basic sketch. It sends some text from one Arduino to another. The receiving Arduino sends the data to the serial monitor box. Of course you could always use an LCD module instead. In my own inimitable style the sketches are very simple, yet allow you to use their contents in your own work. Here is the sketch for the transmitter – tx.pdf and the receiver – rx.pdf.

When working with two sketches at the same time, you can have two Arduinos connected to your PC simultaneously, just remember to select the correct USB port for the correct Arduino. Do this with the tools > serial port menu option in the IDE. Otherwise you will become very frustrated if you upload the rx sketch to the tx Arduino. Furthermore, you will need to remove the wire from digital 0 to the data pin on the receiving units before uploading the sketch. And finally, remember to set the serial monitor window at 9600 baud. Now I can laugh, but earlier I kept setting it to 2400 as that number was in my mind from the sketch.

Here are my two boards in action:

Although having both boards connected to the one computer is only useful for demonstration purposes, in real life this is obviously useless. Remember that once you upload your sketch the Arduino doesn’t need a computer, only a power supply. You can feed yours between 7 and 12 volts DC through the socket. A nice switchmode power pack will do nicely, or if you are a cheapskate like me, a PP3 battery and clip soldered to a DC plug:

You may find that when you use a battery powered Arduino that it basically does not work. Arduino genius Jon Oxer (co-author of Practical Arduino)has found a solution for this issue – place a 10k resistor between GND and digital 0 (RX), or between digital pins 0 and 1. The next thing to consider it improving the reception range. This can be done using two methods – the first by connecting an external antenna, either a length of wire, or perhaps a purpose-built aerial. The second method is to increase the supply voltage of the transmitter up to 12 volts.

Now it is your time to do some work:

Exercise 11.1

You now are able to send characters using the radio link from one Arduino to another. Now it is time to control things remotely. For the purpose of the exercise, we will just control three LEDs, turning them on and off. You already know how to control other things with digital output pins, so we just need to focus on getting the switching on and off. Hint – you can send characters via the wireless link, so create your own codes.

3 x 560 ohm 0.25 W resistors. They are to reduce the current to protect the LEDs

Here is the schematic of my interpretation:

… the transmitter:

… the receiver:

and the video:

So how did you go? Hopefully this exercise was easier than you had first expected. If not, here are the example sketches: exercise 11.1 tx.pdf and exercise 11.1 rx.pdf. A basic transmit/receive system like this would also be handy for testing the range that wireless modules can operate over, or testing a particular site to see if you could implement such wireless modules. It’s always better to test before agreeing to make something for someone.

If you are having trouble understanding the sketches, please feel free to ask for help via email, leaving a comment, or asking the question in our Google Group.

That concludes our work with radio wireless links – for now.

Next on the agenda is the rotary encoder. Recall how we used a potentiometer in the previous chapters as a dial, to select menu options using the readdial() function. It was simple, cheap and it worked, but some may say it was a kludge. There must be a better way! And there is, with the rotary encoder. A rotary encoder looks like a potentiometer, but it is a knob that can be rotated in either direction infinitely. Furthermore, the knob is also a normally-open button. The encoder we will be using in this chapter is a 12-step encoder, in that you can feel it physically resist rotation slightly twelve times over the 360 degrees of rotation.

Here is our example:

On one side there are three pins, and two on the opposing side. On the perpendicular sides are legs for strength, that is they are meant to be soldered into a PCB to lock it in nicely. The problem for us is that those legs interfere when trying to use the encoder in a breadboard, so I have bent them up and cut them off:

The pins are easy to understand. The two pins on one side are the button contacts, just like any simple button. The other side with the three pins – the centre goes to ground, and the outside pins are the forwards and backwards output pins. The data sheet for our encoder is here. After fooling about with this all afternoon, the quickest way to get a feel for how it works is with a simple demonstration. So first we will test it out, then see how we can use it in our user-interfaces.

Example 11.2

This example is very easy to assemble. You only need an encoder, and the usual Arduino setup. Here is the sketch: example 11.2.pdf; and the schematic:

and in real life:

and finally a snapshot of the output. Don’t forget to set the speed in your serial monitor box to 115200 baud:

So as you can see, this is a much better solution that then potentiometer that we used in the past. Plus having the button integrated in the encoder is very convenient, you can really create a user interface with only one control. In the next instalment of this series we will implement the encoder in an existing design.

At this point I would like to ask you for some feedback. Would you like shorter, weekly articles – or longer, fortnightly (every two weeks) articles? Please leave a comment with your opinion.

Subscribe (see the top right of this page) to receive notifications of new articles. High resolution photos are available from flickr.

If you have any questions at all please leave a comment (below). We also have a Google Group dedicated to the projects and related items on the website – please sign up, it’s free and we can all learn something. If you would like to showcase your work from this article, email a picture or a link to john at tronixstuff dot com. You might even win a prize!

So have fun, stay safe and see you soon for our next instalment! (Hopefully the 10th of July)

About

Planet Arduino is, or at the moment is wishing to become, an aggregation of public weblogs from around the world written by people who develop, play, think on Arduino platform and his son. The opinions expressed in those weblogs and hence this aggregation are those of the original authors. Entries on this page are owned by their authors. We do not edit, endorse or vouch for the contents of individual posts. For more information about Arduino please visit www.arduino.cc

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